Wilkosz & Way Blog

BTC: Fashion film with director Kaelen Ohm

2012-01-23T16:41:00.000-08:00

Some behind the scenes shots of a film shoot we did with director Kaelen Ohm at our studio featuring clothing by Canadian designer Caitlin Power.

Director: Kaelen Ohm
Director of Photography: Wilkosz & Way
Camera Assistant: Alex Spence
Model: Ania Bonieka at Sophia Models
Stylist: Lindsay Sutton
Designer: Caitlin Power
Stylist Assistant: Adi Price
Make Up: Alicja Wilkosz
Hair: Richard De Los Reyes
Set Designer: Kent Merriman
Set Decorator: Kelsie Hjorleifson
Project Coordinator: Joel Goundry
Production Assistant: Brent Podesky

Behind the Scenes photos courtesy of Jessika Hunter

Sam Ypma for Fashion Gone Rogue

2012-01-18T19:59:00.000-08:00

Here's our latest editorial for Fashion Gone Rogue with Sam Ypma (Mode Models/Trump NY).

We wanted to have a thread of plastic, rubber and PVC running through the styling, which stylist Leah Van Loon injected with playful cheekiness. Our beauty artist Alicja Wilkosz did an amazing job on the makeup, total perfection! We have to say this is one of our favourite stories we've shot recently.

Welcome to Storm Mountain

2012-01-17T13:12:00.000-08:00

Our second editorial for Globe & Mail's Saturday Style section is finally out. Shot on location at Storm Mountain Lodge just outside of Banff, AB for two days once again with the wonderful Globe team Kate & Tiyana.

The retro Après-ski themed shoot included a fabulous tweed Chanel ski suit and beautiful mountain views. Storm Mountain Lodge is a quaint little resort with rustic cottages, helpful staff and delicious food. We highly recommend!

Art Director: Kate LaRue
Stylist: Tiyana Grulovic
Model: Marie C. at Numa Models
Makeup & hair: Alicja Wilkosz
Styling assistant: Lindsay Sutton

Austra

2012-01-10T16:16:00.000-08:00

Last month we shot the lovely and super-talented Katie Stelmanis and her band Austra, what an amazing voice! With limited time before their gig, we managed to get some beautiful portraits.

Styling: Lindsay Sutton // Makeup: Erin using MAC cosmetics

One of their music video, voted one of 50 Best Tracks Of 2011 by NME.com

Mod.

2012-01-10T14:25:00.000-08:00

Some photos from our Mod story shot this fall with stylist Leah Van Loon, now in Parlour magazine.

Styling and Art Direction: Leah Van Loon
Model: Kim Barbour, Mode Models
Makeup: Satoko Suzuki @ Artists Within
Hair: Lindsay Larsen @ Hedkandi Salon

Preview: Johanna Gene Stickland

2011-12-26T17:12:00.000-08:00

Sneak-peek from the photo shoot with Johanna Stickland, someone we always wanted to work with, and had the pleasure to get to know as a friend while she was living in Calgary. We were a little nervous to photograph her at the beginning (Hanna's been in every big publication and has walked all the big shows), but she is an absolute dream to work with.

A talented photographer, you can see some of Hanna's work here, she is currently in Paris and we wish her all the best in her adventures! We'll post the rest of this series when it's all when it's all ready.

Carey's studio.

2011-12-21T15:17:00.000-08:00

Our good friend and college mate Carey Shaw just posted some images of her new studio on her blog. She is a photographer living and working in Regina, Saskatchewan, and her new digs are pretty fabulous. Even though Calgary is much bigger, spaces like this don't really exist and are impossible to come by. It's one of the pitfalls of living in a fast developing city with little interest in old buildings.

I thought I'd share some pics, Carey you did a great job setting it all up.

All photography by Carey Shaw. Original post here.

Inez & Vinoodh on Style.com

2011-12-14T18:04:00.000-08:00

Great interview with our favourite photography couple Inez & Vinoodh about their relationship, working together for over two decades and their collaborations with others on Style.com.

Excerpt from the intreview:

"Can we talk a little bit about your creative relationship? How does it work? How has it changed over the 26 years?

IVL: Well, we met in school. We started out working together when Vinoodh had his own label as a designer.

VM: We really liked the process of talking about creating that image.

IVL: And finding casting. We sort of did everything together. So when Vinoodh stopped his label, we started working together on the pictures even more closely and then it just evolved. I think the moment we started working for Vogue, it changed. Before that we would do everything.

VM & IVL: The styling. The concept. The layouts. Sometimes the hair and makeup.

VM: Every shoot would take over two months because we did everything ourselves. We even picked up the clothes ourselves in Paris at the press agent.

IVL: But then we were asked by Vogue to shoot for them and then we had to work with an editor which was completely new for us. All of a sudden there was an editor and the clothes, it was all done for us.

VM: When we started, we said, “OK, Inez is the photographer. You can call me a stylist.” That was our first credit. But then we came to Vogue and we had to invent a new credit, so we just said “photographer.”

IVL: Then at some point I remember we had an extra camera on set that we were trying out and Vinoodh was like, “Let me just try it out.” From that moment on, he started shooting as well. All of a sudden it was like, wow. Also the level of stress reduced greatly. Between the two of us, we knew the picture was there. It’s great. We look at each other’s [cameras] and we can say, “Oh, that’s better. Let’s go in that direction.”

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And if you're looking to get us something fabulous for xmas, look no further than their recently released book by Taschen "Pretty Much Everything" :)

Samantha Savage Smith

2011-12-04T21:15:00.001-08:00

It's always a pleasure photographing the lovely Samantha Savage Smith. We have worked with the singer/songwriter in the past, specifically on her latest video (you can view our post about it here), and wanted to do some classic black & white portraits.

Samantha released her debut album “Tough Cookie” in April 2011, and is signed to Western Famine/Arts&Crafts.

Staying in and keeping warm.

2011-12-04T19:56:00.001-08:00

Lately we've been staying in and keeping warm in our studio shooting creatives.
The shots below are taken with my phone camera, off our laptop screen at our most recent shoot.

The lovely Karly is from Edmonton and was recently featured on Model.com's New Faces. We were going for a Rembrandt painting/old-lady look, and I think we might have succeeded :)

Preview / Megan Martin

2011-11-18T20:05:00.001-08:00

Here is a preview of a shoot we did last summer for a premier issue of new Alberta publication, which although a bit delayed, should be coming out anytime soon.

Model: Megan Martin, Mode Models International
Stylist: Lindsay Sutton
Makeup & hair: Alicja Wilkosz

Stylist of the Month: Olivier Rizzo

2011-11-09T22:55:00.000-08:00

We've been doing these inspiration posts for a bit now, and while they usually focus on photographers who we admire, we wanted to branch out and feature other creatives usually involved in fashion photography.

Olivier Rizzo (b. 1969) is a Belgian stylist, consultant and freelance fashion editor who we've been following for a while. We've mentioned his before in our previous post about Willy Vanderperre, a Belgian photographer he collaborates with on most of his work.

He is one of the best fashion stylist working today, and his collaborations with some of our favourite photographers can bee seen in some of the best fashion images of the last decade. His layers, tucks, combination of contrasting pieces elevate everything.

Olivier Rizzo is represented by Intrepid.

Willy Vanderperre on his long running collaboration with Olivier Rizzo:
"I met Olivier on the first day at school in Antwerp. So it really is a long-time collaboration. We’ve been friends ever since. Right after graduation we just started to team up together. It would be Saturdays, Sundays… mostly on weekends that we would get together for a shoot.

He was styling. I was taking pictures. Peter Phillips, who was at the Academy with us, was make-up. We shot outside on location, we shot in our living room, always natural daylight, very raw, it was all about the emotion we tried to capture in the expressions of the models. The living room where we worked from, had the perfect light-orientation and Belgium has the most beautiful diffused light. We just did things that we wanted to express to the world. It was raw and emotional. I guess it wasthat search for real emotions, that people picked up on.

We’ve known each other for such a long time, we trust each other, but we also push each other every time again and again. We don’t want to fall into repetition. I think we always strive for something that pushes our work forward, or that gives people a different look on how we work together. I think we always try to do something unexpected in terms of imagery or in terms of styling, that comes with friendship and trust and I hope we can continue working together forever because he is a very talented person."

Willy Vanderperre, Raf Simons and Olivier have been creating the beautiful Jil Sander campaigns season after season.

Jil Sander - photo: Willy Vanderperre

Jil Sander F/W '08 - photo: Willy Vanderperre

Jil Sander F/W '11 - photo: Willy Vanderperre

Jil Sander S/S '11 - photo: Willy Vanderperre

Did you ever think that the work you were doing on the weekend would ever have a commercial application?
"At that point, none whatsoever. We all were very naive back then. We just shot! We always worked around the same boy and girl in a shoot because they were a source of inspiration. Those images were also the start of the link with Raf Simons. Raf was a close friend of ours and he was just starting his collection. He was translating perfectly what happened around that time with his clothes that we used a lot. One of those early images went into an exhibition and Terry Jones from i-D magazine picked up on it. And that’s when the first picture got published.

Ever since then we did shoots and we worked together and then I just always took the liberty of sending it to i-D magazine saying “This is what we’ve done. Do you like it? Perhaps you’d like to publish it” and I’d always be fortunate enough that they liked it (laughs) and it just continued.

Also Alix Browne who used to work for V magazine was in Antwerp to see about some advertising for V Magazine, the start of it, the launch of it. V Zero saw the publication of some images we had produced, our first publication in the US.

They commissioned, we proposed. There was never a thought that if it continued in that direction it was going to become a commercial success or anything. We just did things and sent them out. We just had fun. Later, at one point you start to think about the commercial application of your work."

- excerpt form Models.com

V Magazine 0 issue 1999 - photo: Willy Vanderperre

Olivier on the V Magazine #O shoot:
"This image and the others that went with it were taken the same afternoon in our flat in January 1999. Raf [Simons] did that amazing collection with the big, black capes. We shot it about a week after the show. It was very relaxed really, we were just hanging around, not really planning a concept, not like a regular shoot, we just wanted to see where it would go. I felt it was quite nice to have pieces of the collection with Robbie's own clothing. Then at a certain point I thought about Mickey Mouse, I don't know why I thought about it. Personally, I'm very much into old Mickey Mouse images from the Forties and Fifties and have quite a collection of them on T-shirts.

At a certain point it was getting very doomy but still very romantic, I thought about putting one of my mouse T-shirts with one of Raf's pieces. Then Peter Philips said he wanted us to wait around while he tried something. Twenty minutes later he came back with Robbie and that amazing make-up was on his face. At that point he was just wearing some vintage black jeans - my favourite staple that I still use in a lot of shoots - and one of Raf's dinner-jackets. That look just stands for what I really like in men's fashion; a young, handsome man who is quite sure of his presence, a simple stance, a beautiful daylight picture, an amazing tailored dinner-jacket with his own vintage sweatshirt and tight jeans. And the weird thing is, the whole lot blends together with the strange, children's cartoon on his face."

- excerpt from Independent, The (London), Sep 20, 2003

Some editorials that we love, all shot by Willy Vanderperre.

Love Magazine September 2011

V Magazine Issue 60

V Magazine Issue 62

Love the simplicity and graphic shapes in this editorial, perfect solution to shooting summer/beach themes in an new way.

W Korea July 2011

W Mag March 2011


W Magazine January 2011

Arena Homme+ Winter Spring 2008

Fantastic Man Fall/Winter 2011

i-D Magazine Fall/Winter 2011

i-D Magazine May 2010

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Editorials shot with other deeply influential photographers:

Another Magazine F/W 2011 - photo: CraigMcDean

Another Magazine S/S 2010 - photo: Paolo Roversi

The New York Times 2007 - photo: PaoloRoversi

Prada Resort Llookbook 2011

Prada Campaign F/W 2010 - photo: Steven Meisel

Accidental magic.

2011-11-09T21:25:00.000-08:00

This is the result of using recovery software on one of hard drives, some really old files came out jumbled together in a magical mess. I wonder if you can ever recreate this intentionally...

Rock the Coat.

2011-11-05T13:45:00.000-07:00

Our coat editorial we shot in Drumheller, AB with the amazing team from The Globe & Mail is out today.

We had the best time shooting this! The location was breathtaking, the clothing perfectly styled, Ania looked gorgeous and the weather couldn't have been better (considering it was October). Tiyana and Kate were amazing to work with, it was one of those shoots were everything came together and the whole team was a perfect match.

We were so excited to see this all in print, the format is huge, and Kate did an amazing job on the layout.
The cover is awesome!

Client: The Globe & Mail / Globe Style

Art Direction: Kate LaRue
Styling: Tiyana Grulovic
Photo Editor: Clare Jordan
Makeup & hair: Alicja Wilkosz
Model: Ania Boniecka (Sophia Models)
Styling assistance: Jennie Lyle

Happy Halloweeeeeeeeeeen!

2011-10-31T18:01:00.001-07:00

One of our favourite Mode models Samantha Ypma was in town for a short visit, and we jumped at the chance to work with her again. Here is a sneak peek, more images to come soon!

Sam is represented by Mode Models, Trump (NY), and Marilyn (Paris).
Makeup and hair by Alicja Wilkosz
Styling by Leah Van Loon

Hoo-Doo-It.

2011-10-31T16:35:00.000-07:00

We just finished working with the wonderful ladies from The Globe & Mail Style section, in one of our favourite Alberta locations, Drumheller! This shoot was part of two editorials we shot for the Globe, with the first one coming out on November 5.

The coat story, shot on location in the hoodoos, was art directed by Kate LaRue and fashion directed by Tiyana Grulovic. We had an amazing time, the team was awesome, and everything turned out beautifully, can't wait to see it in print, all 11x21 inches of it!!!

With such an amazing team of ladies, can you guess who the model is?

The crew: Me, Model: Ania, Art Director: Kate, MUA: Alicja, Stylist: Tiyana, Assistant: Jennie Lyle.
Photo by Jeff.

Elodie.

2011-10-25T22:56:00.000-07:00

Now that almost all the leaves have fallen off the trees in the backyard, here are some images to remind us of summer in Calgary.

Elodie M. (Mode Models) fits the youthful feel of these images perfectly. Makeup and hair by Alicja Wilkosz, styling by us. My favourite is the Mickey Mouse sweatshirt, biker shorts and Ryan's Blue Jays cap, kind of ridiculous, but somehow looks just right. Enjoy!

Inspirational - Photographer & Stylist of the Month: Venetia Scott

2011-10-15T19:00:00.000-07:00

So far we've only been posting inspirations featuring photographers work, but a great stylist can elevate a fashion shoot to another level, Venetia Scott is both.

This isn't a common occurrence, but London-based Venetia Scott started out as a stylist for numerous magazines including British and Italian Vogue, and notably i-D and the Face, before becoming creative director of Marc Jacobs.

In 2005 she started working as a photographer and landed assignments for Another Magazine, Self Service, i-D and British Vogue. Currently she shoots and styles a lot of her own work.

Her eclectic take on fashion has led to collaborations with Helmut Newton, Mario Sorrenti, Steven Klein and her former partner Juergen Teller, father to her seven-year-old daughter, Lola, whom she has collaborated with for over 20 years.

It's easy to see the similarities between her work and that of her former husband, as they had collaborated on the Marc by Marc and Marc Jacobs campaigns for several seasons. Without a doubt, however, her styling aesthetic had a major impact on what Juergen's fashion work as well.

Below is some of her early styling work with photography by various photographers:

Russian Vogue June 1999, photographed by Jurgen Teller.
This editorial is so reminiscent of my childhood growing up in communist Poland :)

Venetia's calling card is making fashion statements that revolve around a look tailored to a specific character and narrative, as opposed to anything as banal as a must-have shoe. Now a crucial component of today's fashion vocabulary, it's hard to imagine that he seemingly "anti-fashion" aesthetic of models in nondescript locations, wearing clothes that appeared incidental was once considered shocking.

Marc Jacobs Spring 2011 campaign, photographed by Jurgen Teller.

Another Magazine, S/S 2006, photographed by Stephen Shore

Venetia Scott: "I think half the idea of shooting on location is for the trip and the adventure you’re going to have - the time that you can take people away from their normal environment and it’s very concentrated. quite like keeping my models there overnight and having them in a different environment... I want to have a connection with them. "

Below are some examples that feature both Venetia's photography and styling:
Another Magazine, Fall/Winter2006

Self-Service, Fall/Winter 2007
APC Campaign, F/W 2011

Margaret Howell Campaigns

Working with other stylists:
Aanother Mag, FW2010, styled by Marie Amelie Sauve.
Love this editorial woth Lindsay W, adorable :)

Self Service, SS2011, styled and photographed by Venetia Scott.

SelfService F/W 2011, styled and photographed by Venetia Scott.

UK Vogue, November 2007, photographed by Venetia Scott, Styled by Kate Phelan

UK Vogue May 2008, photographed by Venetia Scott, styled by Kate Phelan

Paule Ka Campaign, S/S and F/W 2011

Photographers & Muse

2011-10-07T11:22:00.000-07:00

Our black & white story with Ania B. in now on Photographer & Muse. We shot these in two parts a while ago, and we are super happy with how the patchy lighting, Ania's poses and the overall mood all came together.

Kind of Blue.

2011-10-03T16:18:00.000-07:00

Another creative with the beautiful Mode model Hannah Donker, who has just signed with Next. Can't wait to see what's next for her :) Styling by local artist Caleigh Kansas, makeup and hair by Alicja Wilkosz.

Preview: Elodie

2011-10-02T17:55:00.000-07:00

Another quick preview of a creative we did with Elodie Marquis (Mode Models), we shot this one on Jeff's first camera! Styling by us and makeup and hair by Alicja.

Preview: Marie

2011-10-02T17:17:00.000-07:00

Hi! We shot Marie Cruttenden (Numa) a couple weeks ago, and here is a preview of what happened. So fun. Styling by us, makeup by Alicja Wilkosz, and hair by Richard De Los Reyes at Chrome Salon.

Sid Neigum in Plaid Magazine

2011-09-23T11:56:00.000-07:00

Our editorial in the Fall print issue of Plaid Magazine is now on newsstands. The story is a feature on a Canadian designer based in New York Sid Neigum. We had a lot of fun in the darkroom with this one, the entire story was shot on film, hand printed, collaged and hand painted by us. Big thanks to Plaid's Editorial Director Odessa Paloma Parker for the great assignment.

Models: Stephen Kroeger and Hannah Donker at Mode Models, styling by Lindsay Sutton, makeup and hair by Alicja Wilkosz. All clothing by Sid Neigum.

Things we've been working on.

2011-09-15T20:03:00.000-07:00

We spent the last two weekends shooting two completely different fashion stories, both on location and with amazing teams. We still have some editing to do, but here are some behind-the-scenes shots of what we've been working on. (Sorry for the iphone photos :)

On location at beautiful Upper Kananaskis Lake with the lovely Ania B. (Sophia/Next Models), Jennie Lyle (stylist) and Alicja Wilkosz (makeup). Big thanks to Rob and Shea for coming out and helping us carry all the heavy stuff. Also huge hugs go out to Ania for getting into that freezing glacial lake!

(L) Us in action, (M) Ania as the last of the light came over the mountains, (R) Us, Alicja and Ania holding soaking wet socks

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Mod 60s story with styling by Leah Van Loon, who pulled some amazing Prada, Marni, Dolce & Gabbana and Céline pieces. Shot on location at the Bow River and a downtown courtyard, this was the first time we shot with Kim Barbour (Mode Models), makeup artist Satoko Suzuki (Artists Within), and Lindsay Larsen (Hedkandi Salon). Kim was amazing to work with, we had her jumping around, yelling and being crazy, such an awesome personality! This whole shoot was also concepted, produced and art directed by Leah Van Loon.

(L) Kim's silent screams (M) Kim mid-air (R) The team in a pyramid formation

Testing - Kayley Chabot

2011-09-14T12:19:00.000-07:00

Below are some images from out creative test with Mode Models latest star Kayley Chabot. At only 15 years-old Kayley is a force, one of the best new faces we have ever worked with, such an amazing girl! She just signed with Ford Models in NY, and we can't wait to see whats next for her this season.

Our whole team was out of town, so this was our first time having to do styling and the makeup ourselves!!! Big thanks to Michael for setting it up, can't wait to work with this lovely lady again soon :)

Outtake, Plaid Magazine.

2011-09-09T13:10:00.000-07:00

Our newest editorial for the fall print issue of Plaid Magazine should be hitting newsstands any time now, and in the excitement we wanted to share an outtake with you. This image will not be running in the story, but we thought it was lovely nonetheless. Big thanks to Plaid's editor Odessa Paloma Parker for setting it all up.

All images shot on Mamiya RZ, and Tri-X. All developed, hand printed, and hand colored by us.

Hannah D. (Mode Models) is wearing Sid Neigum, as styled by Lindsay Sutton and makeup/hair by Alicja Wilkosz.

Mode Models

2011-09-03T11:15:00.000-07:00

Here are four lovely ladies from Calgary Mode Models we photographed a while back, just a quick update shoot with natural makeup by Alicja Wilkosz.

Photographer of the Month: Kacper Kasprzyk

2011-08-30T20:28:00.000-07:00

Kacper Kasprzyk is a relatively young photographer that has exploded in the last year. I started noticing his work in some of my favourite European publications, and his images in Dazed & Confused in particular have been the best so far.

Based on the last name I'm assuming he is Polish, and although there isn't too much personal info on him on the web. I did however come across a really bad scan of an article on him in Industrie Magazine's Young Guns issue, here's some info I found:

At 31, the former assistant to Mario Testino and Mikael Jansson, less than 3 years after doing it alone, he held out for only the best jobs, and has already worked for Yves Saint Laurent, Gucci, Acne and Thierry Mugler.

Kacper decided to stop assisting after realizing that if he stayed another day working for another person he would never pick up a camera. As an assistant you basically live through someone else's career.

To him casting the right model is everything, but as a young photographer he feels (like most I'm guessing) that it's sometimes difficult to get a top girl and the right team to work with.

Kacper Kasprzyk is represented by Total Management

Some of his early work, I read somewhere that he grew up in Sweden, and now works in Paris.

One of the earlier examples of his work. October 2007 issue of Swedish Cosmopolitan

Canadian model Tara Gill for Cover Magazine, January-2008

A moody Cover Magazine spread, September 2009

Details Magazine, September 2009

Constance Jablonski for Vogue Japan July 2010

Two beautiful stories for Muse Magazine

Muse, Spring 2010

Muse, Summer 2010

His work for more mainstream publications like Elle US (Aug 2010) isn't as exciting, but will definitely open up more doors.

Vogue Japan

A great narrative for Man About Town F/W 2010. His outdoor editorials definitely rival his studio work.

Dapper Dan Magazine, A/W 2010

Kacper's first editorial that really caught my eye. Deceivingly simple, yet so perfect for that mood. Plus I love the model on the left, Valerija Kelava. His best work by far are his editorials for Dazed & Confused, who have seemed to given him a lot of room to play with artistically.

Some awesome menswear shots for Dazed , February 2010

New it girl Arizona Muse in a minimal series for Dazed & Confused, March 2011

These 2 series below were a striking example of showcasing this spring's color blocking trends.
Beautiful usage of color!

Dazed & Confused January 2011

i-D Magazine, Spring 2011

Querelle in AnOther Magazine SS 2011

It's nice to see a progression from the above photos, both stylistically and in terms of production and prestige of magazines. Kacper definitely went about shaping his career wisely, and in a relatively short time managed to produce somre really unique work.

His newest newest editorial ran over 60 pages in Dazed & Confused. That's a huge chunk of the whole magazine. I'm sure we'll be seeing more from him in the future.

Dazed & Confused September 2011

All images copyright Kacper Kasprzyk

Capitol City Burlesque

2011-08-30T13:01:00.000-07:00

We recently had the pleasure of photographing the lovely ladies of Capital City Burlesque, and here are some of the results. The shoot took place in the back of a museum storage room full of stuffed animal displays. Best location. Ever.

Here are a couple 4X5 view camera examples, all shot with a turn of the century lens.

We also shot some digitals, in case of a film emergency :)

Billie Jean

2011-08-29T21:23:00.000-07:00

Our denim story for We Like We Love magazine came out today, and we are excited to finally be able to post the final images. Lindsay Sutton styled the feminine vs. masculine story, and makeup and hair was done by Alicja Wilkosz.

Model: Mikayla Fritzke at Ford/Want Management

You can view the whole issue here.

Samantha Savage Smith

2011-08-15T19:01:00.000-07:00

Over the last year we have been trying to shoot more video and motion, and this latest project is a music video we directed, shot and edited for Canadian singer songwriter Samantha Savage Smith.

"You always come to mind" is off her debut album Tough Cookie, which is being re-released this fall, with nationwide distribution from indie darlings Arts and Crafts Records.

***Update: the video is playing on Much Music's The Wedge Weekly Playlist ***

Photographer of the Month: Alasdair McLellan

2011-08-05T16:11:00.000-07:00

Lately we have been thinking more and more about film photography again, minimal lighting set-ups and simply trying to capture a natural beauty in our subjects. With what has been going on with fashion photography lately, it's really refreshing to shoot that way. The ease and beauty of natural light is a big part of bringing out the subjects real personality.

Alasdair McLellan is a British photographer who is a master of shooting with natural light and capturing models at their purest. Born in 1974, Alasdair bought his first camera aged 13 and was inspired to pursue a career in photography when he began taking pictures of friends as a teenager, going on to study photography in Nottingham. After moving to London, his work caught the attention of stylist Simon Foxton, who commissioned his first shoot for i-D.

With a distinctly British sensibility, he is regular contributor to Vogue, L’Uomo Vogue and Self Service, Arena Homme + and i-D. Alasdair believes that photography should be personal. He gives his stylists and models a lot of room to be creative and portrays their ideas with amazing clarity. There's a lot of energy in his work and he captures the chemistry of the entire shoot beautifully.

Alasdair McLellan is represented by Art Partner.

Sigrid in AnOther Spring 2010

Alberta supermodel Simon Nessman for Arena Homme Summer 2009

Arena Homme F/W 2010-11

Love this layout! Barneys S/S 2009

2006 i-D Magazine with Coco Rocha

i-D Fall 2009 with Dree Hemingway

i-D November 2008

Love the vintage monochromatic effect. i-D Magazine Winter 2010

An absolutely amazing series for Love Magazine #5, S/S 2011!!!

Classic portraiture. Natalia V. in Fall/Winter issue of Love #6

Lately this is one of my favourite campaigns, simple and natural. Margaret Howell S/S 2011

Margaret Howell F/W 2011

POP Magazine F/W 2008

POP F/W 2007 and F/W 2008

Self Service Magazine S/S 2011

UK Vogue April 2011

I love this styling on Agyness for V Magazine #67 Fall 2010

Simple set and classic styling for V Magazine #70

Not the typical sexy depiction of Gisele, V Mag #52.

Vogue Japan June 2008

Vogue Japan Dec 2008

Vogue Japan July 2011

I love the nostalgic 80s feel of this Vogue Paris March 2010 editorial with Malgosia.

Vogue Russia March 2009

One of his muses, Dree Hemingway in Vogue Russia March 2010

The amazing Lindsey Wixson with a hint of vintage nostalgia, W Magazine August 2010

Y-3 Campaign F/W 2010

All images copyright Alasdair McLellan

Mr. Diamond Rings

2011-07-31T21:12:00.000-07:00

We had the pleasure of photographing the lovely and talented Diamond Rings, a musician from Toronto. A super good shoot, John was an absolute pleasure to work with. We all had an awesome time at his show after the shoot.

The beautiful makeup was done by Alicja Wilkosz, and John was styled by Lindsay Sutton.

Listen to Diamond Rings here.

Broken Doll Lookbook

2011-07-25T22:48:00.000-07:00

We shot a lookbook for Canadian label Broken Doll Clothing, designed by Leah Bohnet.

Makeup by Alicja Wilkosz
Model: Ania Boniecka at Sophia Models

Plaid for Fall

2011-07-25T21:34:00.000-07:00

We are in the darkroom this week printing images from our second shoot for Plaid Magazine, this time for the Fall printed issue. Featuring F/W 2011 leather pieces by NY via Drayton Valley, AB designer Sid Neigum, we worked with Hannah Donker and Stephen Kroeger from Mode Models on the story.

Hannah is back from taking time away from modeling to focus on school, and we can't wait to show you her amazing shots from the shoot. In the meantime, below are some recent digitals from her agency.

Icons for Conglomerate Magazine

2011-07-19T23:15:00.000-07:00

Our editorial for Conglomerate is out, and we are super happy with how the images came together. Big props to our stylist Lindsay Sutton, Alicja Wilkosz for makeup & hair, and to our lovely models Kat Shandruk and Rena Donaldson (Mode Models).

For the issues theme Art as Fashion, Fashion as Art we drew ideas for our sets, styling and mood from some of our favourite contemporary artists. Our whole team contributed to the ideas, and the models did a great job interpreting our art direction.

Inspired by the iconic balloon sculptures of Jeff Koons.

Referencing the volume, shapes and drama of Leigh Bowery.

Dot faces inspired by John Baldessari, and layering, color and volume inspired by Jessica Stockholder.

Polaroid with hues referenced from David Hockney's paintings and performance inspiration from Yoko Ono.

We aready posted this image inspired by Vanessa Beecroft, but here it is again.

Multiple exposures of Rena and Kat inspired by Vanessa Beecroft.

Conglomerate didn't run the image below inspired by the minimal work of Sol Lewitt, but we thought Kat did a great job, and our set design really worked well with the theme.

Kat in a set inspired by the lines and simplicity of Sol Lewitt.

Preview Pt.2

2011-07-18T15:50:00.000-07:00

We are anxiously waiting for our newest editorial to come out any time now. In the meantime, here's another preview of our shoot, inspired by and based on Vanessa Beecroft's performance art.

Styling by Lindsay Sutton, makeup by Alicja Wilkosz, Kat S. and Rena D. at Mode Models

Mode Models

2011-07-14T09:13:00.000-07:00

Group portrait of Calgary's Mode Models: Monica, April, Rena, Kat, Robin and Jessie.

Art as Fashion.

2011-07-12T18:47:00.000-07:00

We just finished an editorial based on some of our favourite visual artists. Here's an outtake from the story featuring model Kat Shandruk.

Styling by Lindsay Sutton. Makeup and hair by Alicja Wilkosz.

New studio space.

2011-07-12T18:25:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of posts lately, we're been spending a lot of time outside lately. Calgary summers are so short, we're trying to make the most of the nice weather. We've got some news though...

Last month, we've moved out of our old space, as much as we loved the community at Pith Studios, it was time for us to move on. This is what our old place used to look like! It's amazing what we used to do in this small space. For our shoot with YACHT we had 10 people in here.

We are excited to be in our beautiful new studio (below) we are sharing with local photographers Jay Eng, Greg Gerla and Colin Way. The place is huge. Can't wait to build ridiculous, over-the-top sets and set every piece of our lighting gear up at once :)

A darker side of Ania B.

2011-06-19T21:47:00.000-07:00

These are from a creative we did a while ago, dark and mysterious lighting and one of our favourite models, Ania B. There was no makeup, hair or stylist, Ania brought a couple of things and the rest was laying around the studio. Sometimes this is a nice way to work.

Photographer of the Month: Luis Sanchis

2011-06-11T23:11:00.000-07:00

Luis Sanchis was born in Spain where he studied cinematography and fine arts in Madrid. He moved to New York City in 1994. This is going to be a less wordy blog entry, as there is not much info on the photographer, but none the less his work is certainly inspirational.

Luis Sanchis is represented by Quadriga

Everything about his locations, lighting, printing and styling brings back memories of flipping through 90s i-D, The Face and Dazed & Confused, and being floored by his rich imagery. So I guess this is a bit of a throwback piece back to when being a master of lighting went hand in hand with being a successful fashion photographer. Mr. Sanchis still prefers to shoot on film and do all his manipulations in camera as much as possible, and I think you would be hard pressed to create the same feel of his work in a digital image.

Cover shoot for then unknown model Karen Elson for The Face Aug 1997. I still own this issue. Simply stunning!

Iconic images of Daft Punk from The Face

His campaign for Atsuro Tayama S/S 2003 still sticks with me to this day. Love the mystery and the light.

Great beach images :)

Leonardo DiCaprio for The Face

Dramatic day-for-night lighting for L'officiel Magazine

Beautiful shots of Crystal Renn, back when she was still plus size

The colors in this field shot are amazing.
A variety of Luis' photographs from the last 15 years

Beautiful images of Madonna, she looks so young and vulnerable.

These landscapes and the colors are stunning.

Beautiful shots of Claudia for Tank Magazine

Another supermodel and a great ad for Alexander McQueen.

Love this image of Omaraya!!!

Mariacarla Boscono is one of my favourite models, here's an early editorial, with an innovative take on spring and flowers. She looks so young here!

All images copyright Luis Sanchis.

New music section coming soon!

2011-06-07T21:28:00.000-07:00

We are in the process of setting up a new section on our website, Music! Over the last year we have photographed several musicians, and we now have enough to fill a whole section on our website. Should be coming in the next couple of weeks.

It's definitely something we enjoy doing, so hopefully there'll plenty more of that in the future. In the mean time here's a portrait we did with Smalltown DJs, Pete Emes & Mike Grimes.

"Into the Light" in Plaid Magazine

2011-06-03T14:21:00.000-07:00

Our editorial with Mode model's Courtney Killips is now published in Toronto's Plaid Magazine.
This was a super fun one!

We shot on location in an old mansion in Mt. Royal currently occupied by 4 young artists, who were gracious enough to let us take over almost every room in their house. Courtney was perfect for this concept, and the gorgeous makeup and hair by Alicja Wilkosz, and sultry 70s styling courtesy of stylist Lindsay Sutton rounded out the whole story perfectly. You can view the entire editorial here.

We have also just been confirmed to shoot a spread for their Fall printed issue, and we can't wait!

Special thanks to Holt Renfrew and Margaret Abrams :)

Flashback!

2011-06-02T20:59:00.000-07:00

Just digging through our old files....
Found this, a glass plate negative image we shot of Kathleen Burbridge, cropped, flipped and altered. Can't wait to work in the darkroom again :)

Bill Cunningham "New York"

2011-06-02T08:58:00.000-07:00

Just went to see a wonderful documentary on legendary Bill Cunningham, the original street fashion photographer, who has been documenting New York's streets and events for many decades. At 82 years old, he still rides his bicycle everywhere to photograph New Yorkers of all walks of life for The New York Times On the Street section.

Please see this if you get a chance, it's absolutely wonderful! So inspiring to see someone so completely dedicated to photography and fashion, and still so after so many years. I'll take Bill's report on what's happening in fashion over The Sartorialist anytime.

If you want see his photos together with his wonderful commentary, go here.

Here are a couple columns by Bill Cunningham for the New York Times.

Loyal Loot Collective

2011-05-24T21:36:00.000-07:00

Below are the finished photographs from our 2 day shoot with the lovely and talented ladies from Loyal Loot, an industrial design collective from Edmonton, AB. Formed in 2004, Anna, Carmen, Doha and Anna have exhibited their work London, Milan, and New York and their products are sold in fine shops all over the world.

Stylist Lindsay Sutton worked with the designers on styling several rooms, mixing Loyal Loot designs with vintage and found objects for a series of editorial-style photographs that will be featured on their new website.

Oh, the 90s.

2011-05-24T09:33:00.000-07:00

Creative with Mode Model's Court Baker. Inspired by the 90s.

All clothing and shoes courtesy of Gravity Pope.

Sometimes we like to play with design...

2011-05-22T16:12:00.000-07:00

The original versions of these ran in Antler Magazine a couple months ago, but while we were putting it all together we took it further and made this layout. Just a bit more crazy. Maybe we should have sent this to the magazine?

Model: Samantha Ypma (Mode Models), makeup & hair by Alicja Wilkosz, styling by Leah Van Loon

Photographer of the Month: Willy Vanderperre

2011-05-19T21:51:00.000-07:00

Willy Vanderperre is a fashion photographer who has over the last couple years really risen to be at the top of his game. Born in 1971 in Belgium, Vanderperre studied Photography and Fashion at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, which he attended alongside many of the key Belgian fashion designers of his generation, mainly his longstanding collaborator Raf Simons.

Vanderperre regularly contributes to magazines including Arena Homme +, Another Magazine, Pop, New York Times, V and i-D. His advertising campaigns include Dior Homme, Raf Simons and Jil Sander.

Together with renown stylist Olivier Rizzo, who he seems to be working with almost all the time, they have created countless editorials and campaigns that consistently wow, are beautifully lit and feature amazing and progressive styling. One of the best teams working in fashion right now. He is currently represented by Management Artists.

Below are some of my favourite V Magazine editorials:

V Magazine #45

V Magazine #60

V Magazine #62

V Magazine Summer 2010

V Magazine #69

V Magazine Winter 2008

One of his earlier collaborations with stylist Olivier Rizzo for V Magazine, shot back 1999. Their work together has produced some great ideas and commentary on contemporary fashion photography.

New York Times T Magazine from Spring 2007 issue, featuring a beautiful model from Calgary, Mode Models' Johanna Stickland. I still see her around town, and she looks more gorgeous than ever. This is probably the first time I noticed Vanderperre's work. Simply beautiful black & white editorial!

Vanderperre is a frequent contributor to Another Magazine:

AnOther Magazine S/S 2008

AnOther Magazine F/W 2008

AnOther Magazine S/S 2009

AnOther S/S 2010

A selection of some of his menswear photography:

Vogue Hommes S/S 2011

Great lighting and processing in Arena Homme + for F/W 2008

Man About Town Magazine F/W10

Fantastic Man F/W 2010

For a sneak peek of Mr. Vanderperre, watch the BTC Prada Spring/Summer 2011 Menswear Campaign video:

I love how he combines shooting in a space together with stark on-white

Vogue China

Vogue China Mar 2011

Vogue Nippon Nov 2010

Vogue Russia October 2009

W Magazine Jan 2011

Willy Vanderperre has shot numerous campaigns for Jil Sander, and every single one is great!

Minimal S/S 2007 campaign featuring Johanna Stickland

Love this one for S/S 2008!

F/W 2008

F/W 2009

Gorgeous lighting in the S/S 2010 Campaign

F/W 2010

The newest campaign for S/S 2011

All images copyright Willy Vanderperre

Plaid Magazine - Sneak Peek

2011-05-19T07:00:00.000-07:00

Here's a preview of our upcoming shoot for Toronto's Plaid Magazine. Shooting Courtney (Mode Models) was a breeze, her personality, her razor sharp cheekbones and her haircut were perfect for this story.
Full editorial to come out in June!

Makeup and hair by Alicja Wilkosz. Courtney Killips is wearing Canadian designer Caitlin Power, styled by Lindsay Sutton.

The Dark Side of Summer - Outlooks Magazine

2011-05-17T21:49:00.000-07:00

Menswear editorial photographed for June issue of Outlooks Magazine, featuring Calgary designers KaaDiki and Jalu.

Styling by BR Pirri, Makeup by Kelly, Art Direction by Len Mastaler, featuring Fraser, all at I Model Management.

Calgary Petroleum Club

2011-05-08T10:14:00.000-07:00

The Calgary Petroleum Club is an old private club located in Calgary's business district. Although the name conjures images of secret meetings of businessmen in slick suits, the club offers dining and meeting facilities to its members in glamorous surroundings of days gone by.

While going though archives, we came across these images we shot under the Art Direction of Catherine Dean, comissioned for The Walrus over a year ago. We never had a chance to post these, and the story got cut from the issue and never ended up being published. Too bad, because we loved Catherine's idea of shooting this decadent space in an empty and nostalgic fashion. Definitely not what immediately come to mind when thinking about big oil money in today's market.

Shot on Mamiya RZ, using Portra 400 Color Negative film.
As always, we love feedback and comments!

The grand dining room

Wall of past presidents

The lobby

Coatcheck

Mezzanine

Closeup of old wood elevator

Music Video - Parkade by Rah Rah

2011-05-06T18:48:00.000-07:00

The music video we and Mr. Stephen Peasley made for the band Rah Rah from Regina, SK is finally out, and being played in power rotation on Much Music.

Parkade is from the album Breaking Hearts on Young Soul Records, and was shot entirely in our old apartment in Calgary. Featuring the beautiful Chantelle Han, the video deals subtly with obsessive compulsive disorders, as she meticulously checks dials on her stove and nervously combs her hair before leaving the house for the day.

RAH RAH "Parkade" from wilkosz way on Vimeo.

Yacht on Calgary Fashion

2011-05-05T15:48:00.000-07:00

Our photographs of Yacht (DFA Records) are going to be featured as web banners on CalgaryFashion.ca

Makeup by Aga Bona, Styling by Lindsay Sutton and John James.

Court & Beauty

2011-05-03T23:37:00.000-07:00

As we are spending the next 3 days getting ready for a commercial shoot with Court Baker from Mode Models, we thought we'd show you these beauty photos we did with her during the winter. Makeup by the lovely Alicja Wilkosz.

We shot these in Edmonton, and Aaron Pedersen of 3Ten Photo was super awesome and offered us his studio for the day. Having never met him before, we certainly appreciated the gesture. We love it when creative people can come together!

BTC with Mikayla.

2011-05-01T15:19:00.000-07:00

Hi! Here's a behind the scenes shot from our shoot with Mikayla. Can't wait to work on the final images!

Shooting Mikayla

2011-04-28T12:25:00.000-07:00

We are working on an editorial shoot with the lovely Mikayla Fritzke, a promising Canadian model from Ford Models Toronto tomorrow.

Shooting with her has been in the works for a while, and we have finally managed to make it happen. We love her perfect, softly elegant features (see below), and have some great feminine vs. masculine ideas planned! We'll keep you posted on some btc pics from the shoot soon.

All about glamour.

2011-04-18T12:32:00.000-07:00

Yesterday found us shooting on location for Toronto's Plaid Magazine. The spot, an old Mount Royal mansion currently occupied by some lovely young artists from Calgary. A diamond in the rough, but the countless rooms, vintage wallpaper, furniture and the mish-mash decor were all perfect.

The star of the editorial was Mode's new face Courtney Killips. We love her new haircut (you can watch a video of her hair transformation here) and the 90s supermodel angles in her face. She absolutely nailed all the looks.

Below are some iphone pics, we'll update with the finished story soon.

Makeup & Hair: Alicja Wilkosz, Styling: Lindsay Sutton, Model: Courtney Killips (Mode Models)

Fabricated - April 16, Calgary, AB.

2011-04-15T21:40:00.000-07:00

We are excited to have produced the cover for FABRICATED, a fashion designer showcase in Calgary taking place on Saturday April 16, 2011. The show will feature designs by Peeko Apparel and our good friend Haithem from KaaDiki amongst others. You can find out more about the event here.

Below is our contribution to the show on the cover of their magazine. We also convinced Brook to pose for a portrait at the end of the shoot, and the results are pretty stunning!

On left: Ashley O. (I Models), makeup and hair by Kelly (I Model Artist), styling by Brook Fung.
On right: Designer Brook Fung of Peeko Apparel.

Emma for Parlour

2011-04-14T00:20:00.000-07:00

A little something we shot for Parlour Magazine. Emma was photographed in front of installation-based exhibition by Kristi Malakoff at Latitude 53 Gallery in Edmonton.

Makeup: Alicja Wilkosz

Styling: Carl Abad

Art direction: Shelley Solarz

Model: Emma- Mackenzie Jardine at Mode Models

Photographer of the Month: Richard Burbridge

2011-04-11T22:26:00.000-07:00

Continuing on with our monthly inspiration series, we couldn't leave out the inspiring perfection of Richard Burbridge, an influential British fashion photographer. Unfortunately any biographical info on him was impossible to find, but guessing by some of his early work, he has been a staple of the fashion industry for some time now. He is an absolute genius with lighting, and whether it's commercial or editorial, we love all of his work.

Richard Burbridge was part of 90s fashion bible i-D, and shot some of my favourite covers for the magazine from 1999 to mid-2000s, has also brought his hyper technical lighting and perfectionism to The New York Times T Magazine, V Magazine and Italian Vogue.

An excerpt from a hintmag.com interview from 2009 on working with i-D:

LC: In the last two years you've shot about a third of the i-D covers. That's helluva a lot for a magazine known for a gritty street style, not bowling ball-polished imagery like yours.

RB: I left London seven years ago and I worked for them then in bits and pieces, but it never really took off. Then they came to me with a pre-fab team. Amber Valletta was my first cover and I had never shot that kind of a girl before. One of the problems I had in starting a career in fashion photography was I wasn't prepared to shoot just any model. The girls who inspired me were the best, so I held off until I could get them.

It's definitely something I look forward to. We shoot the covers after other jobs that day, so it's an all-night shoot—Friday into Saturday morning, usually. With a great team, there's a lot of pressure to do great work because everybody's watching what everyone else is doing and is inspired by it. Or they'll wait to see what Pat [McGrath] does. I feel responsible to them as well, to make brilliant pictures.

Apart from his precise lighting, one of Burbridge's biggest strength is his collaboration with his hair and makeup team, these shots for Another Magazine just wouldn't have the same striking impact if it wasn't for them.

A beautiful series of black & white entitled Masks

Portraits for The New York Times, the lighting is so good here!

Fashion editorial for T Magazine (New York Times). Sometimes a little quirkiness can go a long way to make a memorable image.

Burbridge has also contributed countless photographs to Vogue Italia, and really shines in the Beauty section. There are countless editorials with stunning makeup and styling that just ooze perfection. It's shocking that in the above interview Burbridge states: "I have trouble liking my work. I'm always frustrated. Frustration is my driving force. But I do admire Steven Meisel and Mario Sorrenti"

Vogue Italia, January 2008

Vogue Italia, April 2010

Vogue Italia, November 2005

Vogue Italia, September 2005

Vogue Italia, November 2010

Vogue Italia, September 2005

Beautiful and mysterious lighting in V Magazine!

And the same idea in Self Service S/S 2010

Most recent editorial in Another Man S/S 2011, with some really interesting string details.

Nov 2009 V Magazine and the new issue of Vogue Italia Apr 2011.
Anne V. and Magdalena F. both look absolutely stunning in these shots!

An awesome way to do the typical spring flower shoot, Spring 2011 T Magazine (New York Times)

All images copyright Richard Burbridge

Video - Flashing Lights by Wilkosz & Way

2011-04-09T10:59:00.000-07:00

Flashing Lights! Kaleidescopes! Prisms!
A new video we shot with the help of Ania B, Alicja Wilkosz and Leah Van Loon. Enjoy!

Flashing Lights from wilkosz way on Vimeo.

Color Theory featuring Sam Ypma.

2011-04-06T10:45:00.000-07:00

Our story in Antler Magazine is out today.

We shot the lovely Samantha Ypma (Mode Models) just before she left for all the madness that is NY Fashion Week. The gorgeous makeup and hair was done by Alicja Wilkosz, and Leah Van Loon pulled some amazing pieces just in time for spring. Our goal was to accentuate all the bold colors through strong lighting, and Sam gave us some really dynamic poses to work with. Another successful collaboration with our creative team, great job everyone!

You can view the entire issue here.

"Up there in the big big sky", a short film.

2011-04-06T10:27:00.000-07:00

Whenever Marta goes on an extended holiday, Jeff always manages to be super creative. The short film below is a result of that.

Written a directed by Ted Stenson, and starring Kaelen Ohm and Eslee See, and shot at one of our favourite locations in Saskatchewan. Lindsay Sutton did the wonderful illustrated credits. Let us know what you think!

The Wilkosz Sisters vs. Court Baker

2011-03-31T19:26:00.000-07:00

We are in the mids of finishing post-production on our shoot with Miss Court Baker (Mode Models), and wanted to share this gem. How to feel really short at 5'6'.

Marta and Alicja Wilkosz behind the scenes with Court.

Diamond Rings Preview!

2011-03-24T17:12:00.000-07:00

Hi, here's an exciting preview of yesterday's shoot with Toronto recording artist Diamond Rings. We got the opportunity to photograph John on the heels of his appearance at SXSW, and headed to his Calgary show right after the shoot where he put on an awesome performance.

Keep a lookout for the finished images in the near future, in the mean time here's a quick screen grab off of our laptop screen. Magical!

John James on Flare.com

2011-03-24T16:25:00.000-07:00

Wonderful accessories designer and dear friend John James was recently featured on Flare.com as one of six Canadian accessories designers in Accessories Stars. The interview features a portrait and an image from the John James lookbook we shot last year. Congrats Erin on the feature!

Photographer & Muse

2011-03-21T11:43:00.000-07:00

Our story with Natalie Tusznio is now on Photographer & Muse.

Curated by Think CONTRA out of Toronto, photographerandmuse.com is a site dedicated to photography editorials that are intuitive and meditative, and explore various themes of a muse and his/her impact. Its a collaborative and creative platform for inspiration, we are glad to be part of this network that connects like-minded artists.

Wilkosz & Way Bio

2011-03-21T09:46:00.000-07:00

We are featured in the contributor section TheOnes2Watch.com

Photo by the awesome Reynard Li

Rapture on TheOnes2Watch

2011-03-14T22:09:00.000-07:00

We shot this editorial entitled Rapture at the end of December, and it is finally out. The shoot was inspired by themes of religious iconography, with a touch of seduction, and the opposing forces of good and sinister. Working with a super wonderful team, it was one of the smoothest shoots we've had in a while; efficient, organized, and everything tuned out perfectly. We couldn't be happier with the result!

Big thanks to TheOnes2Watch for working with us on this one, you can also view the entire editorial here.

Styling: Leah Van Loon | Makeup & Hair: Alicja Wilkosz | Models: Ania B (Next Canada) & Aleisia A. (Mode Models)

Photographer of the Month: Catherine Servel

2011-03-10T17:41:00.000-08:00

New York based fashion photographer Catherine Servel and I go way back.

My first introduction to her work was through *Surface Magazine's 1999 Avant Guardian issue, which I was completely obsessed with at the time. I was in art school, and Surface was one of my favourite mags, I still have every issue from #18 to #62, after which the magazine's direction took a total nosedive.

Issue #20 featured Catherine's work on the cover, along with a 6-page spread inside, and was chosen by *Surface from submissions from unknown photographers to their Avant Guardian contest. She did an amazing job, and the photos got a lot of attention. I dreamed of making it into the Avant Guardian issue!

Surface Magazine, 1999

Years went by and I didn't notice Catherine's work anywhere until about 2009. I was thrilled to see that she was still working!

Fashion photography is an extremely tough market to break into, and it just goes to show how long you have to work before all the hard work pays off. It's amazing to see her progression and how her style has evolved since that break she got in 1999.

Malcolm Gladwell believes the key to success in any field is the 10,000-hour Rule, a simple matter of practicing a specific task for 20 hrs a week for 10 years. I feel like this has definitely been the case for Catherine.

Catherine attended the School of Visual Arts, and is represented in London and New York by D+V Management, and that is where you can see more of her work.

*Update: Due to copyright laws we've been asked by her agency to remove her work from our blog, which is super lame considering that there are tons of other blogs that feature her images.

The Double Life of Natalie

2011-03-03T23:25:00.000-08:00

Here's the full spread from our shoot with Natalie Tusznio (Mode Models). We love how emotional Natalie looks, but manages to keep the feel really soft, and translate the clothing perfectly. This was our second shoot with Nat, and we couldn't be happier with the results!

Styling by Lindsay Sutton, and Makeup & Hair by Libertee Muzyka (PureForm Salon)

Ania B on Modeling, Blogging and the Polish Connection.

2011-03-03T22:16:00.000-08:00

We dare you to watch this video interview with our dear friend, blogger and amazing model Ania B., and not totally fall in love with her :)

Video courtesy of YouNxt Blog

Mark Hamilton + Polaroids

2011-02-22T20:30:00.000-08:00

Here are two more Polaroid outtakes from the Out Magazine photo shoot with Mark Hamilton of Woodpigeon we wanted to share. We just learned that Mark has been voted one of 100 Most Eligible Gay Bachelors according to Out Magazine. Congrats!

Woodpigeon is also currently on a European tour, playing in Netherlands, Sweden, Croatia and Italy.
PS. Those are Jeff's hands on the left.

A little something we've been working on...

2011-02-18T22:32:00.000-08:00

Here's a sneak peek of a creative we shot with Vancouver's Natalie Tusznio (Mode Models). More to come soon...

Makeup & hair: Libertee Muzyka (Pure Form Salon), Styling: Lindsay Sutton

The Darkroom, Calgary.

2011-02-15T21:40:00.000-08:00

Since last year Jeff has been working hard installing a small black & white darkroom in the same building as our studio space in Inglewood. After our last darkroom space got closed down to make way for the new LRT expansion, we decided to start another one as a small group project which is now open to all lovers of black & white darkroom magic.

It's getting harder and harder (and more expensive) to work in film, and although we've been working less and less with it, it is still dear to us. There's nothing better than picking your images with a loupe from a row of negs over a light table, dodging and burning by hand , and then watching it all come to life in the developer.

Currently our space has three 4X5 enlargers, with capability of printing 24X30", and very affordable month rates. It's nothing fancy, but it's getting lonely in there and we are looking for some full-time and part-time renters to share the space with us. We would love for the photo community to take advantage of the space. If you are interested, please drop us a line at info(at)wilkoszandway.com

We have been thinking about printing more lately, and can't wait to get back into some analog projects we have lined up for this spring. On that note, here's a vintage Wilkosz & Way image from ways back, all cut up and collage-d in the darkroom. Fun!

Bonjay! Bonjay!

2011-02-10T16:21:00.000-08:00

A couple of month ago we had the pleasure of working with the mega-talented Alanna and Pho, aka Bonjay.

We can't say enough about this duo. Sometimes you meet people and everything just clicks immediately, we got along super well and had one of the best shoots ever. They were super cool, open to ideas and really comfortable in front of the camera. We took them out for tacos after the shoot, and had a great time at their Hifi Club show.
Can't wait to work with them again!

Styling by Lindsay Sutton, makeup by Alicja Wilkosz

These two are ones to watch for sure, according to the Fader, their new song Gimmee Gimmee ”is kinda like T-Dot diasporic lo-fi dancehall. [...] it works as a transition track for a washed out rave or soundtrack for your own personal Run Lola Run." Take a listen here.

Rodarte + Elle Fanning + Oil of LA

2011-02-09T16:01:00.000-08:00

I went to L.A. for the first time last week, and while most things were just as I expected, traffic, hollywood, constant sunshine, one thing stood out as odd.

As we excited LAX onto the freeway, I noticed hundreds of oil pumps in the fields. I recall watching this vbs.com documentary Oil of L.A. about the vast oil fields underneath LA, but it wasn't til I saw them with my own eyes that it came back to me. You can see elements and references to L.A.'s oil history in the newest video for Rodarte by Todd Cole featuring Elle Fanning. It's so nice to see production value and a story line in a video fashion editorial, this feature reads like a short film, and not simply a collection of snippets of motion taken between frames of a still photoshoot, but still manages to showcase the clothing beautifully.

It's one of those things we have been thinking about lots lately. We'd like to focus more on the storyline aspect in our videos, as the ability to shoot motion has become more and more popular and accessible and you see a lot more fashion photographer's shooting motion. Stay tuned for more videos from us in the near future, for now you can see what we've done so far here, and enjoy the Rodarte's Curve of Forgotten Things film below.

Elle Fanning: Rodarte's Muse on Nowness.com.

Ania B. for Flare Magazine

2011-02-07T18:28:00.000-08:00

Shot a couple month ago, we've been anxiously awaiting the March issue of Flare Magazine. We photographed our dear friend, blogger and amazing model Ania B. for the Planet Flare section.

It's always awesome when assignments match you up with people you already love working with. To round out our crew, Alicja Wilkosz did the makeup and hair.

We shot in the middle of freezing winter outside, before moving into Deville in Art Central. Ania picked out and styled some amazing outfits, and even in totally freezing temperatures demonstrated why she is on top of her game. Ania is represented in Toronto by Next Canada.

Here's the page and some selects from the shoot:

Photographer of the Month: Sarah Moon

2011-02-04T20:59:00.000-08:00

In the spirit of our monthly inspiration post, and as long time fans, we decided to dedicate this post to the everlasting beauty of Sarah Moon's work.

Sarah moon was born in 1940 in England, and currently lives in Paris, the formal model has been working as a photographer since 1967.

Moon's first photographs were portraits of friends – who also happened to be models – and her career grew from there. "Somebody lent me a camera," she says, "and while we waited between shots, I took pictures. It came out of friendship." Before long her images were everywhere and she was creating images for Comme des Garçons, Cacharel, Issey Miyaki and Chanel. Sarah was also the first female photographer to be commissioned by Pirelli to shoot their famous calendar in 1972.

As a poor student I returned her book "Coincidences" that I bought in 2001, which has since gone out of print, big mistake, to my surprise my boyfriend ended up getting it for my birthday from a used book seller last year!

Also, while in Berlin last summer I decided not to pick up her newest book, "12345", a comprehensive 5 volume look at her extraordinary work, because of it's huge size & price, thinking I could order it when I got home. It has since gone out of print. What a disaster and horrible luck. I'm trying to get my hands on a copy of these, I'm hoping there are some still floating around. You can read a recent interview in conjunction with the release of Sarah's "12345" book here. There's also a YouTube video of someone flipping through the book (cheesy music included!)

Some of Sarah's work, mostly from the 2000s

Issey Miyake & Marie Claire Japan

10 Magazine 2008

Hussein Chalayan, 2000

Lilith Campaign 2009 & Le Parfum, 2001

Black Book Magazine & Glamour Italy

In Sarah's own words:
"After all these years, people hire me because they want my impression," she says, "they know what I do. I know how difficult it is to make a living as a fashion photographer, however, and, with so many photographers now working, it is harder than ever to believe in your own vision, to listen to your own voice. That, though, is what any good photographer must do. That, in the end, is what it is all about. You have to listen to your own voice, to work for yourself, and accept that it will make a difference."

Comme des Garcons & Galiano

Dior Homme in Metal Magazine, 2010

"For me, photography is pure fiction," Moon says, "even if it comes from life. I photograph people, of course, as I do nature – trees, flowers, animals – but I charge it with something other than reality, with feeling, with a certain feeling depending on the day. I compare myself to reportage photographers, who make some sort of statement about life. I don't believe that I am making any defined statement. Instead, I am expressing something, an echo of the world maybe."

Stiletto Magazine, 2007

Vogue Nippon 2007

Wunderkind, 2010

Le Monde Magazine

A video of Sarah Moon talking about her work

Sarah Moon is represented by Michael Hoppen Gallery, and Renate Gallois Montbrun.
All photographs © Sarah Moon

Rena D in the Studio

2011-02-04T14:03:00.000-08:00

Some more shots of the wonderful Rena Donaldson from mode Models.
Makeup and hair by Alicja Wilkosz, and styling by Ania B.

Kaadiki F/W 2010 Runway Video

2011-01-21T15:54:00.000-08:00

In an effort to shoot more motion, we have been working on a couple video projects lately. Last year we shot a video for a super talented designer Haithem Elkadiki, and his menswear label KaaDiki.

Below is the final result, shot and edited by us.

KAADIKI F/W 2010 from wilkosz way on Vimeo.

AlicjaWilkosz.com

2011-01-21T09:56:00.000-08:00

Just letting you know that our favourite makeup artist Alicja has a new website up.

We designed for her in December, and it's great to finally see it live, you may notice that it features a lot of our photos right now, but she is still waiting to get images from other photographers she works with.
Hint, hint :)

Testing: Rena Donaldson

2011-01-11T11:45:00.000-08:00

Another test with a Mode Model, this time with the super sweet Rena Donaldson.

Shot outside just before it got way too cold, we were excited to have Ania B. styling this one for us. Makeup and hair, as per usual, by beauty expert Alicja Wilkosz.

Music for Photos, Vol. 1 by Fordinho

2011-01-09T21:16:00.000-08:00

My boyfriend Ryan (Fordinho) is a dj, and over the last year we have been listening to his mixes a lot during photo shoots. They're fun, and nice to listen to while working, and we always get props on them from people on set.

This is the first volume in the Music for Photos series which we will be working on together, and it is nice. We shoot and designed the cover. You can download it here. Enjoy!

1. Chilly Gonzalez - Knight Moves
2. Azari & III - Indigo
3. Cosmic Kids - Untitled
4. Eli Escobar - Love Thing (Part 2) DJ Mehdi Club Edit
5. The Outrunners - Diamonds
6. The Glass - Four Letter Word (Black Van Remix)
7. Jam Xpress feat. DD - Gotcha Feelin (Lifelike Remix)
8. Ante Perry & Tube & Berger - Ever Never
9. Etienne de Crécy - No Brain (Serge Santiago Remix)
10. Dido - Everything To Lose (Fred Falke Dub)
11. College Feat. Anoraak - Fantasy Park (Moulinex Remix)
12. Midnight Magic - Beam Me Up (Jacques Renault Remix)
13. Black Strobe - Me & Madonna (The Twelves Remix)
14. Discodeine - Synchronize [Extended] (Featuring Jarvis Cocker)
15. Shit Robot - I Found Love (Wild Geese Remix)
16. The Phenomenal Handclap Band - You'll Disappear (Munk Remix)
17. VHYCE - Basement Horns (Rainbows Of Death remix)
18. DVAS - Inner Sanctum
19. Ghosts Of Venice - Disco Love Affair
20. Lone - Once In A While (Madland Mix)
21. Pacific - Narcissus (Alan Braxe Remix)
22. Active Child - When Your Love Is Safe (Classixx Remix)